Wednesday, November 7, 2018

IWSG & Creativity

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

And we’re revving up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive! Every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

***Question: How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

Interesting question - I had to think about this one!

As a kid I always played with stories and told them in my head. I used to create Star Trek episodes when I struggled with sleep. However, I never wrote down even a single word of those stories.

I started writing a novel (another Star Trek story - TNG this time) for fun when my kids were little. It was a blast to pour words onto the computer. From then on, my stories took on more substance and, after another decade or so, began to demand to be written out.

I think the act of writing (and the process of learning that there is SO MUCH MORE to a story than writing it out) has definitely triggered more creativity.

The stories that keep me awake at night now are the ones waiting to be written, not the ones I'm currently writing.

Because of this, I think I will always have at least another story waiting to be written. Currently there are 4 or 5 wrestling for dominance, so I don't think I'll ever have to worry about lack of ideas to write!

I've always thought it would be wonderful to be able to tap into what we were thinking and have it recorded. Some of my best thoughts occur only in my head, by the time I have a chance to write them down I've forgotten the exact wording. LOL. Glad to know you're a Star Trek fan too.

I love the new ST: Discovery! Fun story lines in that one. I adore Star Wars too & Star Gate (haven't seen Highlander)I struggle with expressing what I have in my head too - but we'll keep on keeping on!

Stories don't usually keep me up at night, but during waking hours my brain is always racing. If I had written down all the stories and ideas that have come into my head over my lifetime then I could probably fill a library. So much has been idle thought--ideas pushed somewhere to the dusty backrooms of my mind.

I don't know if I'm more creative since I started writing, but I KNOW I'm more creative since I started actively reading again. I went through a period in my 20s where I didn't read much at all. When life settled and I started reading a lot, it fueled my creativity.